ICON Consultants contributes to Green Britain Day

Green Britain Day aims to increase recognition of the need to change our energy consumption habits when it comes to climate change.

As part of the event, EDF Energy commissioned independent research at Imperial to look at the domestic energy use in the UK compared to the rest of Europe. Professor Nigel Brandon, Director of the Energy Futures Lab, worked through Imperial Consultants to lead the research.

Over five thousand people were surveyed about their habits and attitudes towards climate change. The research looked at daily habits across ten countries, including how much meat we eat, how we travel, how much electricity we use at home and how often we wash.

And the results were surprising, with Britain lagging behind the rest of Europe in our concern for climate change. Spain, Italy and France all scored higher than Britain, which was sixth when assessed against the Low Energy Alternative Future (LEAF). The LEAF is a measurement designed to assess the environmentally friendliness of a country.

But fortunately over 90% of Britons are willing to make energy-saving changes with the right support.

“It’s important to understand people’s perceptions of the climate change problem before we can encourage them to reduce their energy usage.” explains Professor Brandon. “Industry led consultancy work like this plays an important role in helping us better understand the issue, and also allows us to engage with key players in the field.”